The Oil Drum

You bring up an issue that was a big deal in our culture prior to peak oil - the whole definition of self based on the nature of our gainful employment.

I took an interest in this a few years ago and I have a sort of off an on running experiment I conduct on people depending quite strongly on the situation.

What do you do?

[deadpan]I'm a bank robber.

What do you do?

[deadpan]Perhaps a bit too much heroin.

What do you do?

I spend a few moments describing my interests and hobbies, only lightly touching on what I do for my income.

What do you do?

[the direct approach] What do I do when ... ?

I never pull this stuff when there is money on the table but casual conversations when I'm traveling almost always go along these lines. The results are amusing and revealing - I purposefully steer the conversation to this whole concept of defining self based on what is certainly a transient arrangement with an employer in this day and age.

So ... what do I do?

I'm a hiker, biker, kayaker, amateur photographer, a some times freelance journalist and compulsive scribbler, I try to work a little here and there, and right now I'm about that whole change agent business, which I can't quit even if my life depends on it.

So ... how will people define themselves when the forms of employment of yesteryear recede and one in five of us has no "daily definition"? Perhaps "peak oil activist" will be one of the phrases that one will hear?